A total of 3.625 million patients received treatment worth EGP 10.375bn at the state’s expense in 2019, according to a Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) statement issued on Monday.
The CAPMAS statement, released to mark World Health Day on 7 March, accounts for treatment given both in Egypt and abroad. It added that the 2019 costs for treatment reflect a 23.4% increase on the year before. In 2018, a total of 2.632 million patients had treatment at a cost of EGP 8.410bn.
These figures cover:
Government hospitals:
The number of government hospitals in Egypt reached 691 in 2018, compared to 676 hospitals in 2017, an increase of 2.2 %.
The total number of university hospitals reached 89 hospitals in 2018, versus 87 in 2017, an increase by 2.3 %.
However, the total number of physicians decreased by 9.3% to 113,305 doctors in 2018, compared to 124,871 doctors in 2017.
The total number of nursing staff came in at 196,686 in 2018 versus 191,351 in 2017, an increase of 2.8%.
A total of 55,581 health insurance users used the healthcare system in 2018, versus 54,177 in 2017, an increase of 2.6 %.
Hospitals and other bodies (including public sector hospitals):
The total number of hospitals reached 28 hospitals during 2018, compared to 27 in 2017, an increase of 3.7%.
The total number of beds in hospitals reached 2,761 beds in 2018, an increase of 7.8%, compared to 2,561 in the previous year.
Private Sector:
The number of private sector hospitals reached 1,157 in 2018, an increase of 5.8% on the 1,094 hospitals in 2017.
The total number of physicians working in the private sector rose by 15.3% to 30,733 in 2018, compared to 26,650 doctors in 2017.
The total number of nursing staff rose by 9.9% from 20,711 in 2017 to 22,766 in 2018.
World Health Day, which marks the 1948 formation of the World Health Organization (WHO), is annually celebrated on 7 April. This year’s celebration theme is “comprehensive health coverage”.